context: in brazil, to be a civil servant (city, state or federal level), there are "exams" made on a large scale for people to apply and they need to demonstrate knowledge in a number of things (specific to each public office), and these exams are called concursos públicos / "public contests/exams (? don't know how to translate them properly)". think final term exams with multiple choice questions and/or open questions and/or essays on relevant topics for the position, but for a job (this is a very simple description of the process). sounds awful, but personally I find it much better than the traditional method of job interviews, since you're hired (or not) based on your raw knowledge/experience about the intricacies of the job and not because someone liked/disliked you or you didn't jump through enough hoops to be taken seriously (job hunting in brazil is a big joke, i'm sure it's the same way abroad)